The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-019514, filed on Jan. 28, 2000, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a program product storing an image display program, an image display program, an image display method, and a game system for controlling the screen display in a video game.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, there is no concept of focus in a game screen. All images are displayed in a focused state. In recent years, however, one practice has been to give a blurred effect to the game image so as to enhance the game play effect. For example, there is the technique described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 10-222694.
In this way, it is possible to enhance the game play effect by giving a blurred effect rather than clearly displaying all images. For example, it is possible to clearly display only the characters and blur the background so as to make the characters on the screen stand out more.
Summarizing the problem to be solved by the invention, in photography, there is the technique of focusing on a target object and in that state allowing the light around a bright object to diffuse outward (soft focus). Soft focus enables a soft atmosphere to be given to a still photograph.
In a game image as well, it is possible to enhance the game play effect by soft focus. For example, by giving a soft focus effect to one character, it becomes possible to make that character stand out more in the screen.
There has not been any technique giving a soft focus effect to only one character while drawing characters in real time such as in a game system.
An object of the present invention is to provide a program product storing an image display program, a image display program, an image display method, and a game system enabling a soft focus effect to be given to only a specific portion of the game screen.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program product storing an image display program for making a computer generate dummy image data comprising only image portions of at least a predetermined lightness based on image data comprising a display image; combine the image data and the dummy image data by a positional relationship where an image shared by the image data and the dummy image data is shifted in position; and display an image based on the combined image data.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program product storing an image display program for making a computer generate first and second dummy image data based on image data comprising a display image of a video game and combining the first and second dummy image data by a positional relationship where an image shared by the first and second dummy image data is shifted; acquire third dummy image data comprising only image portions of at least a predetermined lightness based on the combined image; combine the acquired third dummy image data with the image data; and display an image based on the image data combined with the third dummy image data.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display program for making a computer generate dummy image data comprising only image portions of at least a predetermined lightness based on image data comprising a display image; combine the image data and the dummy image data by a positional relationship where an image shared by the image data and the dummy image data is shifted in position; and display an image based on the combined image data.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display program for making a computer generate first and second dummy image data based on image data comprising a display image of a video game and combining the first and second dummy image data by a positional relationship where an image shared by the first and second dummy image data is shifted; acquire third dummy image data comprising only image portions of at least a predetermined lightness based on the combined image; combine the acquired third dummy image data with the image data; and display an image based on the image data combined with the third dummy image data.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display method comprising storing an image display program for making a computer generate dummy image data comprising only image portions of at least a predetermined lightness based on image data comprising a display image; combine the image data and the dummy image data by a positional relationship where an image shared by the image data and the dummy image data is shifted in position; and display an image based on the combined image data.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display method comprising storing an image display program for making a computer generate first and second dummy image data based on image data comprising a display image of a video game and combining the first and second dummy image data by a positional relationship where an image shared by the first and second dummy image data is shifted; acquire third dummy image data comprising only image portions of at least a predetermined lightness based on the combined image; combine the acquired third dummy image data with the image data; and display an image based on the image data combined with the third dummy image data.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game system provided with a computer readable program product storing a program for controlling an image display of a video game, a computer for reading out and executing at least part of the program from the program product, and a display for displaying a video game realized by the computer; the computer, by reading part of the program from the program product, generating dummy image data comprising only image portions of at least a predetermined lightness based on image data comprising a display image, combining the image data and the dummy image data by a positional relationship where an image shared by the image data and the dummy image data is shifted in position, and displaying an image based on the combined image data.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game system provided with a computer readable program product storing a program for controlling an image display of a video game, a computer for reading out and executing at least part of the program from the program product, and a display for displaying a video game realized by the computer; the computer, by reading part of the program from the program product, generating first and second dummy image data based on image data comprising a display image of a video game and combining the first and second dummy image data by a positional relationship where an image shared by the first and second dummy image data is shifted, acquiring third dummy image data comprising only image portions of at least a predetermined lightness based on the combined image, combining the acquired third dummy image data with the image data, and displaying an image based on the image data combined with the third dummy image data.